The NHAA has received some messages of concern from members, relating to the recent decisions made by naturopathic and herbal medicine suppliers and distributors about minimum education standards for supply. We wish to clear up some confusion and assure you that as a current member of the NHAA, your qualifications are still fully recognised.
Decisions have been made by several companies relating to minimum education standards for supply of naturopathic and herbal medicine products. This specifically relates to new Advanced Diplomas in Naturopathy and Western Herbal Medicine started since 2019, that are now being offered by private colleges which are not a government Registered Training Organisations (RTO).
If you are a current NHAA member who holds a completed Advanced Diploma, please be assured that your qualification continues to meet our education standards for membership. Your qualification was completed at a time when Advanced Diplomas met the minimum educational standard as taught by an RTO. These qualifications ensure that your ability to access complementary medicines will not change.
Advanced Diplomas are an important part of the legacy of naturopathic and herbal medicine education and, as you will remember if you completed one prior to 2018, the requirements were robust, comprehensive, thorough and challenging and included a lengthy clinical supervision segment.
We value our industry partners and sponsors and recognise the important role they have in maintaining good practice in our professions. These recent decisions relating to new Advanced Diploma qualifications have been made in order to uphold educational rigor and we thank them for holding strong standards in this respect. As practitioner education is, and always has been, a strong focus for the NHAA, we will be continuing to work to ensure education standards are upheld.
By maintaining your professional association membership with the NHAA, you help us to actively affirm the ongoing relevance of the recognised Advanced Diploma qualifications and maintain their eligibility for both future registration and current product supply.